Executive Function Myths That Need to Go |
Many myths about executive function may be harmful to your growth.
Executive function and morality are not tied together, although society may connect the two.
Skills like time management are reflective of effective strategies but not necessarily effort.
Executive function grows best when we let go of the myths surrounding it.
Somewhere, deep down, I know my level-eight reaction is a mismatch to the level-three problem: I’ve fallen behind on emails, and now I seem like a total flake. My inner voice chides me, “You’re an executive function expert, for goodness sake. You can’t make mistakes like these!” I time-travel in my head, forecasting that all of the families I work with will turn on me, my family will be shamed, and I will be seen as an irresponsible fraud.
Never mind that I’ve fallen behind because I just moved. My brain has soaked up the messaging that conflated my executive function with my character, and as such, I worry that any executive function struggle reflects poor morality. The tangling of who we are with our executive function is just one of the many myths that permeate our thinking and, unfortunately, really set us back. It’s time to dispel the executive function falsehoods:
Being late means you don’t care
We all have........